Whether on pasta, as a spread, marinade or in a salad – pesto is delicious and versatile. In addition to the classic red pesto with tomatoes, the most popular flavors also include the green pesto with basil.
In the supermarket and discounter, the selection of pesto is now huge. In addition to cheap own brands from around 99 cents, you can also find expensive branded products for over 6 euros per glass. But do you really have to dig that deep into your pocket for a good pesto? And do you really get better quality for more money?
These questions cannot be answered so generally. The experts from ÖKO-TEST and Stiftung Warentest in cooperation with the Austrian Association for Consumer Information (VKI) have already tested pesto in the past.
The result is surprising: whether expensive or cheap. None of the pestos in the test were really convincing. In particular, well-known brands such as Barilla, Bertolli or Mirácoli do poorly. In the laboratory test, the experts not only detect mineral oil components and plasticizers, but also numerous pesticides.
In the following we show you the winners and losers in the test at ÖKO-TEST and VKI.
Pesto in the test: well-known brands lose
ECO TEST
ÖKO-TEST is known for taking a particularly close look at food tests. In issue 6/2020, the experts tested a total of 20 green pestos, including four from controlled organic production. The products were not only checked for smell and taste, but also examined for harmful substances in a laboratory. And the result is anything but gratifying. All of the measured pesticide levels are, taken individually, harmless to health according to EU safety assessments. Nevertheless, ÖKO-TEST is critical of even small amounts of pesticides in food and devalues the products accordingly.
The result: None of the pesto in the test scored “very good” or “good”. Two products can at least secure the rating “satisfactory”, including an organic pesto: Das Ppura Genovese Pesto Organic as well as the Buitoni Pesto Basilico.
Although the mineral oil components are also greatly increased in these products, both are free of plasticizers and pesticides. Six more pestos are still “enough”. Three pestos fail with the rating “poor”, nine do not pass the test as “insufficient”.
Also among the big losers that score 6 are well-known and popular brands:
- Alnatura Organic Pesto Verde
- Barilla pesto alla Genovese
- Bertolli Pesto Verde (Unilever)
- De Cecco I Sughi Pesto alla Genovese
The popular Barilla pesto contains 10 different pesticides, softeners, added flavors and greatly increased mineral oil components.
> To the detailed test report at ÖKO-TEST
Stiftung Warentest & VKI
The result of VKI does not look much different. The experts tested a total of 13 pestos in issue 9/2021. Here, too, no product can fully convince. After all, three of the pestos perform “well”: Spar Natur pur organic pesto alla genovese, Gustoni Pesto Basilico and the Yes! Pesto Genovese, of course. All three products rated “good” are organic products and at the same time they are among the most expensive pestos in the test.
Our Austrian neighbors have also tested the popular Barilla pesto. Here the pesto cuts off “average”, but in the test of the Austrians, in contrast to Germany, there are only five marks instead of six. In terms of ingredients, the Barilla pesto was also negative in this laboratory test. In addition to pollutants, the experts also discovered a nasty trick: In order to save money, cheap substitute products are used in the pesto, for example. For example, olive oil is replaced by cheaper sunflower oil, an undefined type of cheese is mixed in instead of real Parmesan and Pecorino, or the pine nuts typical of the recipe are replaced by cheaper cashew nuts. For example, Barilla’s product contains no pine nuts at all.
> To the detailed test at VKI